The Same Old Story

The Same Old Story is a one-woman piece by Franca Rame (1929-2013)[1] and Dario Fo (1926-2016)[2].

The original text

A one-woman piece about a woman bearing an unwanted child and an uncaring lover tells a scatological children's story of a little girl with a foul-mouthed dolly. Sexual exploitation and exploding engineers follow with girls everywhere telling "the same old story".

Part of a series of five monologues entitled Tutta casa, letto e Chiesa (lit. "All House, Bed and Church"), written in 1977. The five pieces are: Il Risveglio (Waking Up), Una Donna Tutta Sola (A Woman Alone), La Mamma Fricchettona (Freak Mother), The Same Old Story and Medea

First produced 1977**

Translations and adaptations

The English version, translated by Gillian Hanna as The Same Old Story, formed part of a trilogy collectively titled One Woman Plays, consisting of A Woman Alone, Waking Up and The Same Old Story. The trilogy was performed at the National Theatre, London, on 26 June 1981 in a production directed by Michael Bogdanov and featuring Yvonne Bryceland.

Performance history in South Africa

1982: An English production of the play was performed in South Africa as part of One Woman Plays by Volute Productions in association with the People's Space and starring Yvonne Bryceland. It played at the People's Space, Cape Town, from 31 August to 18 September 1982, at the University Great Hall, Johannesburg from 28 September to 9 October 1982 and at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Durban from 14 to 23 October 1982.

2011: A new English version of this play, set in South Africa in the late 1990s, was produced by Play.House.Productions, starring Jess Harrison, directed by Candace Gawler at the Intimate Theatre in Cape Town from 5 - 17 March 2011.